Conditions within the energy industry have changed significantly in recent years. The increased cost of natural gas have made this an expensive source of power, while concern about global warming and the introduction of limits on CO2 emissions will have a profound effect on the use of coal in power generation at least in the developing world.

Therefore nuclear power is your best choice for resurrection of a generation and renewable energy is gaining ground as technology refined as experience grows.

The cost of power generation is a new report published by Business Insights that assesses the present and future investment in case of traditional versus renewable energy. This report analyzes all the data to directly compare the investment case and future prospects of different power generation technologies.

It also examines the results of the survey of our own executives to provide a benchmark of how decision makers in providing the energy industry’s future power generation and issues that influence those changes.

Identify forms of energy generation more competitive by using the detailed analysis of this report the real cost of power generation.

This new report will enable you to …

- Assess the relative cost benefit of renewable and traditional technologies throughout their lifecycles.

- Identify the key factors that impact the cost of new energy projects, including structural costs, operational costs, and costs of network expansion, subsidies and externalities.

- Analyze the impact of increased renewable penetration on the cost structure and capacity of energy networks.

- Predict the effect of changes in fuel prices on the competitiveness of renewable technologies.

- Understand that the cost of power estimates have changed over the past three years.

- The opinion of the executives of the industry reference on the future roles of traditional and renewable energy and the meaning of an economy hydrogenated proposal.

Key questions answered in this report …

- What technologies will be the most competitive now and in the next ten years?

- What affects the market structure and price signaling of green energy?

- What is the source of renewable energy more economically?

- What affects the cost estimates for power generation technologies?

- What are the weaknesses of traditional fossil fuels in the long term implications?

- When executives from the industry provide renewable energy to achieve a majority share of electricity production?

- What impact do government policies on the relative competitiveness of power generation technologies?

Assess the costs of renewable energy versus traditional energy analysis using the history of this report, structural costs and lifecycle costs …

The keys found in this report …

- There have been major changes in the estimated capital costs of renewable technologies since 2003, for example, cost estimates for fuel cells were 244% higher in 2007 than in 2003.

- The development of renewable energy is likely to be slower than their competitiveness would suggest. Wind generation is becoming more competitive relative to fossil fuel generation capacity of wind turbine is very small to fill the space today.

- The cost level for power generation technologies differs geographically. In California, geothermal and wind power have lower costs while Vattenfall data suggests that nuclear power is the cheapest source.

- 43% of respondents to the survey of business prospects considering the proposal as the economy hydrogenated significant future generation of electricity compared with 52% in 2005.

- The cost of solar energy cells could fall to $ 1 / W in 2020 and $ 0.5 / W by 2030, assuming 20% annual growth in production of solar cells.

Filed under: General, Solar Energy by Val Comments Off

Previously, we discussed the success of solar cookers in Kenya, thanks to the support and training of Solar Cookers International.

According to recent report in The Standard, one of the leading newspapers of Kenya, other solar products are shining now, especially the pumps and strength to carry small businesses in rural areas where electricity is scarce.

“The farm irrigation in rural areas (where there is no electricity) is required to be successful … solar systems,” said JV Patel’s manufacturer Amedo.

Solar World East Africa is a company that launched solar kits $ 45 or “force carriers” that provide energy for lighting, charging mobile phones or other electronic items.

“Such systems are ideal for places where the electricity grid is unreliable or inaccessible or access is very expensive,” Jayesh Dave, managing director of Jua Moto Systems, spoke with The Standard.

A solar home lighting system, which is marketing Jua Moto, can serve as an invaluable source of energy in places away from the national grid, Jayesh joined. This includes foreign bases, ecological reserves, camps, and rural communities among others. Can be used as an occasional source in power outages.

Filed under: Solar Products by Val Comments Off

The world´s largest solar photovoltaic farm in Portugal. The country expects to generate about one third of its power through solar energy.

The farm, located at the top of the plain Alantejo near the small town of Mouro, will be twice as big than any other project of this type. The farm includes 2520 giant solar panels, placed at an angle of 45 degrees to attract the sun moves across the sky.

Portugal has already made a mark as a world leader by switching to clean energy. Why? In part because unlike other developed countries, Portugal does not have an economy dominated by the industries of coal, gas and uranium.

The world´s largest solar photovoltaic farm is also located in Northern Portugal, with over 130 turbines. Portugal plans for this energy is spread the interest around the world, reports the Galaxy website.

Currently, the first commercial wave farm is being built near Porto. These “sea snakes”, developed by the Edinburgh-based Pelamis, will soon be dragged into the sea and begin to produce electricity on the network later that year.

Portugal is the European leader in the clean technology revolution, and Economy Minister Manuel Pinho hopes this is just a beginning.

According to Pinho, “We must reduce our dependence on oil and gas. What seemed extravagant in 2004 when we decided to choose renewable energy now seems to be a good decision. ”

Pinho said that Portugal is not interested in nuclear energy.

“When you have a program like this, you do not need nuclear energy. Wind and water are our nuclear power. The relative price of renewable energy is much lower, so the incentives are there to be invested. My advice to countries such as United Kingdom is changing as quickly as possible to renewable energy. Climate change and rising fuel prices, renewable energy will be more and more important. ”

Furthermore he says, “Countries that do not invest in renewables will pay a high price in the fruit. The cost of inaction is very high indeed. The perception that renewable energy is very expensive is changing every day with the hike in fuel prices. ”

Not only that, but experts say that renewable energy has many intangible benefits to human health and the environment. Renewable energy means skies, waterways and soil cleaner, with the passing of time can make a difference when it comes to the future of humanity.

With regard to the economy, progress in the solar industry has led experts to believe that it reached parity with coal in less than 5 years. If this happens, we will see a major shift to renewable energy.

Filed under: Solar Developments, Solar Energy by Val Comments Off

The ability of plants to capture and store solar energy through photosynthesis promises to be a good solution as a renewable energy for mankind.

However, agriculture must maintain its primary role in energy production, creating healthy meals for the human body. Can we develop sustainable biofuels and ensure a continuous supply of food at a fair price for the people of the world?

Traditionally, agriculture has an extra production capacity. In fact, prices of farm in recent decades have forced governments to abandon the land. However, the extra production capacity of the agricultural sector is increasingly modest. Especially cereal crops such as corn and wheat are staple foods for most people around the world.

The Edible and Agricultural Organization of the UN reported last year that there was a 4.6 percent increase in the production of cereal seeds. But the increased demand for these cereals stock at year’s end under a 5 per cent.

At the same time a record 100 million tons of grain last year was used as biofuel. If these grains had not been used to produce fuel, there had been an increase in the stock of about 12 percent.

So, why are so used cereals for biofuel production? After all, is well known that ethanol from maize is not an efficient way of producing solar energy into fuel. In fact, the energy balance of corn ethanol is only slightly positive, i.e. it needs the same amount of energy to produce the fuel as it eventually creates.

The truth is that ethanol works with activists to convince corporate leaders to subsidize it with tax revenue. Meanwhile, other options do not get sustainable biofuel subsidies despite the fact that produce 700 percent more energy and offsetting carbon dioxide than ethanol from corn each hectare of farm land.

So, how big are the benefits of ethanol? In Ontario (an importer of corn from the USA), the provincial and federal grants last year were approximately 16.7 percent per liter of ethanol produced. This actually creates an incentive grant of $ 64 per ton for corporations to import U.S. corn to make ethanol in Ontario. And voila! Another inflation in world prices of cereals. Ontario taxpayers have deeper pockets than the poor nations of the world and can reach deeper into the world of the basket of groceries if they want to produce biofuel.

This year, some 25 million additional tons of grain will be extracted from the global food basket as taxpayer subsidies enable the high price of corn is turned into ethanol. Speculators are in the glory as they realize that the USA will not have enough corn to meet ethanol demand markets for export and for traditional groceries. Who love to swim no more than the shortage of production to increase corn prices and rising through the roof.

Inflation of food last year has increased since a 4.5 per cent in USA, 6.9 per cent in Europe, 23 percent in China and 35 percent in Sri Lanka. Not surprisingly, crops for fuel are being denigrated as a crime against humanity.

The first thing that can be done to a more sustainable biofuel crops is used to capture solar energy more efficiently the cereal grain or vegetable oil. The best options are energy crops that can do this on marginal farms. This would minimize the conflict with the overall delivery of groceries. The efficiency of the sources of perennial native grasses such as millets are adapted to this land and can produce 40 percent more energy gain per hectare than maize.

We also need to more efficiently convert biomass (captured solar energy) in the form of useful energy. Scientists now understand that liquid fuels are the losers in the game of energy conversion. It is much more energy efficient to produce biogas and fuel pellets from biomass to replace fossil fuel. In a race to create energy security and reduced greenhouse gas, biomass crops converted into granules or complete converting biogas from crop seeds in liquid biofuels.

So how can we create a legal framework to support sustainable biofuels? Well, only happen when the federal government picking winners in technology to stop money from taxpayers and instead create greater parity in the use of incentives to reward genuine technologies for climate.

Adopt the proposed 1-2-3-4-5 renewable energy a serious step forward. It is a symbol of a national climate change renewable energy, $ 2 per gigajoule (a gigajoule is a measure of energy) for heating a green, $ 3 per gigajoule by biogas, $ 4 per gigajouel to green energy and liquid biofuels, and 5 represents the required 50 percent reduction in greenhouse gases before the technology is eligible for the incentive.

Food vs. The fuel crisis will not disappear until countries like Canada to reform our subsidy. This should support the biofuel technologies that run efficiently on solar energy and use marginal farmlands.

Filed under: Renewable Energy, Solar Energy by Val Comments Off

The energy from sunlight falling on only 9% of California’s Mojave Desert could supply the electricity needs of the United States if the energy is efficiently harvested, according to some estimates. Unfortunately, the current generation of solar cell technology is too expensive and inefficient for business applications on a wide scale.

According to Eurekalert, the new services of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a team of researchers from Northwestern University has developed a new anode coating strategy that significantly heightens the efficiency of conversion of solar energy. A report about the work, which focuses on “engineering” of the interfaces of the organic material of electrodes in large quantities of organic heterojunction solar cells, was published online this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

This progress in solar energy conversion promises to bring researchers and developers of the world to the goal of producing cheaper, more factories and cells easily implemented. These technologies significantly reduce our dependence on fossil fuel for electricity production and also reduce the combustion product: carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas for global warming.

Tobin J. Marks, Researcher Professor Vladimir N. Ipatieff Chemistry Institute of Arts and Science and Weinberg Professor of materials science and engineering, and Robert Chang, professor materials science and engineering in the School of Engineering and Applied Science McCormick, leads the research team. Other Northwestern team members were researcher Bruce Buchholz and graduate students Michael D. Irwin and Alexander W. Hains.

Of the new solar conversion technologies on the horizon, solar cells made from organic materials such as plastics are attractive because they can be printed cheaply and quickly by a process similar to printing newspapers.

To date, the type of plastic photovoltaic cells most successful is called “bulk-heterojunction cell.” This cell utilizes a layer consisting of a mixture of semiconducting polymers (electron donor) and a fullerene (an electron container) tightly between two electrons – an electrical conductor electrode (the anode, which is usually covered with indium oxide tin) and a metal (the cathode), such as aluminum.

When light enters through the transparent conductive electrode and kicks the layer of polymers that absorb light, electricity flows due to formation of pairs of electrons and holes are separated and are directed to the cathode and anode, respectively. These charges are in motion electric current (current picture) generated by the cell and are collected by two electrodes, assuming that each type of cargo can pass through the layer between the active interest of fullerene-polymers and the correct electrode to carry the load – a major challenge.

The Northwestern researchers employed a laser deposition technique that coats the anode with a thin (5 to 10 nanometers thick) and smooth layer of oxide nikel. This material is an excellent conductor for extracting holes from the irradiated cell but, equally significant, is a major blocker that prevents the electrons to be channeled more misplaced electrode “incorrect” (the anode), which compromise the efficiency of conversion of the cell energy.

In contrast to previous approaches for anode coating, the coating of oxide nickel Northwestern is more cheap, electrically homogeneous and non-corrosive. In the case of cells in the bulk-heterojunction model, the Northwestern team has increased the voltage of the cell to approximately 40 percent and the efficiency of energy conversion of approximately 3 to 4 per cent to 5.2 to 5 , 6 per cent.

Researchers are currently working on tuning the anode coating technique for the extraction of the whole extraction and electron blocking efficiency and moving to production-scale experiments on flexible substrates.

.

Filed under: Technology by Val Comments Off

Even with the crushing Arizona sun, the electric meter at the home of Stephanie Feil in Rio Verde Foothills revolves so slowly that most did not pass on Wednesday. Until the air conditioning started working. At that time began to turn back.

Feil is one of the residents of Scottsdale who got permits for solar power, a figure which rose from 1 in 2001 to 28 in 2007. The city has issued five permits this year.

Solar electricity is a good thing because it adds equity to your home, make money and save the owner that their environment is friendly, said David Rinehimer, president of Barcelona Homes, the builder of homes built home Feil. Rinehimer has included solar energy as something common in their homes six years ago, one of the features that includes call themselves “green builder.”

Including solar panels in the costs of the house makes you feel the money they save in the accounts from day one, Rinehimer said.

“People do not do this alone,” said Rinehimer “We said, ‘Let the evidence.”

The owners get credit for energy companies and tax credits when they install solar systems. Therefore, the approximate $ 40,000 of the systems houses Rinehimer ended up being something like $ 17,000.

After that, the energy is obtained automatically when the solar panels generate enough energy, and take the rest of the network at night or at other times when the sun does not generate enough heat to power the home, said Rinehimer .

And when it generates an excess of energy, mainly sold to the company, which paid as a credit on electricity bills.

Feil and her husband did not seek specifically the home green, but are satisfied with the outcome.

They used to pay $ 400 in his former home of 2,600 square feet. This house of 4,680 square feet cost $ 70 in April before the credits.

“We still do not believe that is true,” said Feil.

Solar energy can also cause the property value increases. The value varies, but the houses can easily go up about $ 25,000 of equity for every $ 1000 saved in costs, said Jim Sexton, a Scottsdale real estate agent who works frequently with Rinehimer.

While most builders are embracing green concepts, it is still difficult to persuade them to offer solar energy as a common feature in their homes, said Anthony Floyd, Program Manager for Green Building Scottsdale. In fact, Floyd was surprised to learn that Barcelona had that feature and did not know any builder to do so.

Floyd believes that not many builders include solar options, and is easier to do the easier way.

But most builders have no regard to solar energy as a better option, he said.

“When taken into account as an option, most people choose not to solar energy,” says Floyd.

Some green building concepts, such as double glazed windows, insulation is placed below the ceiling instead of under the attic entrances covered with shadows and bathrooms with double chain offering different amounts of water for liquid versus solid waste, have become common in recent years, said Floyd.

This increases energy efficiency, which is good – and also one of the reasons why Scottsdale has recently raised its standards for what counts as “green building” so that the builders have to go further to win the category Green said.

Scottsdale and other groups moved in encouraging solar energy between 2001 and 2002. That was when the Maricopa Association of Governments adopted the Standard requirements for solar permits, which most cities have adopted, a move that allows the builders know the requirements, said Floyd.

And Scottsdale adopted guidelines for integrating solar panels into the building design rather than associating then address things like that should have roofs to get as much sunlight, how high would be the equipment on rooftops and different types of panels and paints that can make the panels look like a normal roof.

“If not integrated, it seems more like a team. And people do not like to see the team. ” Floyd said. “Solar energy can be beautiful.”

While the guidelines are voluntary Scottsdale and MAG, Floyd said he believes have helped to encourage an increase in the Scottsdale homes for solar energy in the following years.

And although Rinehimer not think that many more builders begin to offer solar energy as a common feature until the economy is on the rise, he hopes to one day join the builders. “I think what really is going to last green,” said Rinehimer. “It is not just a fashion, the prices are funneled.

Filed under: Solar Energy by Val Comments Off

SolFocus, which makes systems that concentrate sunlight on solar cells, has been adding a little to its funds during the year. And according to a report from Venture Wire, the company has finished raising its funds, and seeks to add between $ 60 million and $ 80 million in a Series C. That coupled with the $ 95 million already collected.

The concentration solar photovoltaic systems are rare. They are among the massive solar thermal plants built in the desert, and the Standard photovoltaic panels, concentrated PV panels used with lenses and curved mirrors to focus sunlight on solar cells, which can produce more power with less material – SolFocus says that one square centimeter cell can capture more than 500 square centimeters of sunlight. Configuration reduces the amount of silicon used in panels, and can significantly reduce the costs of the system.

SolFocus is two years old more or less and seeks to grow rapidly in an attempt to commercialize its technology. The company already sells products to selected customers for installations as test sites, such as the 50-kilowatt installation for the Institute’s Concentrated Photovoltaic Systems in Castilla-La Mancha, Spain. Last July the company bought a solar tracking company InSpira based in Madrid to help the business scale reducing the cost of the crawlers.

The VentureWire report says SolFocus is now looking to increase funding for “growth and manufacturing.” Previously the company was funded by the New Association of Moser Baer India, David Gelbaum, MetaSystem Group, NGEN Partners and Yellowstone Capital.

Filed under: solar companies, Technology by Val Comments Off

With the administration of data centers to absorb enormous amounts of energy and concerns about the amount of gallons of water required to make semiconductors, one would never think that the chips would provide a solution to some of the problems of resources and environment. But the semiconductor industry really wants to use its chips to make life greener.

And in some cases, technology offers an answer. An engineer from Mexico, for example, has used four different types of processors from Freescale low capacity for distilling water using solar energy, a glass and semiconductor system for estimating water needs and scattered around the house. José Luis Rojas digital solar digital, won a design competition conducted by the chip manufacturer Freescale.

Distillers generally work from home by collecting and channeling water into a chamber with a diagonal roof heated by the sun. The heat is enough to kill impurities in the water, leaving a film of condensation water on the roof of the distiller. The condensation then drips through the roof angled toward a clean water receptacle.

It is low-tech, but the accession of one of its chips to detect impurities, heat and direct water around the home is making the technology is so compelling for Freescale. Rojas plans to use the $ 50,000 prize to help marketing his product.

Filed under: Technology by Val Comments Off

Ingeniería Conserval has announced the launch of its new product, SolarDuct PV / T, which is a solar photovoltaic system for the roof; solar collectors are mounted on metal panels channeling the excess heat from the solar panel to the building HVAC system. As a result, this system, which is part of photovoltaics and heat can generate electricity and put the heat to be used when necessary in the building.

Ingeniería Conserval estimates that its system SolarDuct PV / T can reach a total efficiency of about 50%, thus reducing the time period of investment recovery complete. With a faster return, companies could tilt the investment system SolarDuct roof, even without a favorable state and local incentives.

The company anticipates that its cogeneration system will help make solar energy investments financially accessible to commercial standards, industrial and institutional applications. Furthermore, the use of these metal collectors for mounting the panels could standardize and maintain the facilities costs associated with that portion of the investment, too.

Filed under: Technology by Val Comments Off

The Atlantic City Convention Center has signed a 20 year agreement with Pepco Energy Services for a 2.36 megawatt solar roof installed on the building. When completed later this year, the project is estimated to be America’s largest solar energy building. This is 13.321 solar panels covering nearly two thirds of the building and saving nearly $ 4.4 million in electricity costs for 20 years the agreement.

Under the terms of the agreement between the convention center and Pepco, Pepco will pay installation and the Convention Center will purchase the electricity generated by Pepco.

The financial details of the multi-million deal have not been released. The installation is ready to begin within 30 days and will be completed later this year.

Filed under: Solar Energy by Val Comments Off